The Northeastern Congolian lowland forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

that spans the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Geography

The Northeastern Congolian lowland forests lie in the northeastern basin of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

. The ecoregion is mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a portion extending into the southern Central African Republic. It is the easternmost portion of the

Guineo-Congolian region The Guineo-Congolian region is a biogeographical region in Africa straddling the Equator and stretching from the Atlantic Ocean through the Congo Basin to the Congo / Nile divide in Rwanda and Burundi. Formerly, this region was largely covered in ...

, a belt of tropical rain forests that extends through western and central Africa. The

Ituri Rainforest The Ituri Rainforest is a rainforest located in the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The forest's name derives from the nearby Ituri River which flows through the rainforest, connecting firstly to the Aruwimi Ri ...

is in the ecoregion. The ecoregion is lies north and east of Congo River, and other rainforest ecoregions bound it on the west and southwest. It is bounded on the north by the

Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic The Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is a forest and savanna ecoregion of central Africa. It extends east and west across central Africa, covering parts of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Suda ...

, and on the southwest by the Southern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic across the Congo River. The

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

mountains bound the Congo Basin on the east, and are home to the neighboring Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion above 1500 meters elevation.

Climate

The climate is humid and tropical. Average annual rainfall ranges from 1,500 mm to 2,000 mm, and is generally lower in the east. There is a distinct dry season from January to March.

Flora

The predominant plant community is lowland moist forest. The forests are principally evergreen, with areas of semi-evergreen forest where some trees lose their leaves during the winter dry season. The forests are mostly a mix of species, although there are some single-species stands, notably ''

Gilbertiodendron dewevrei ''Gilbertiodendron dewevrei'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical rain forests in Central Africa. It is often the dominant tree species of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest. The timber is traded as ''limbali'', and is us ...

''. Transitional submontane forest is found at the eastern edge of the ecoregion on the lower slopes of the Albertine Rift mountains, and drier transitional forest is found along the ecoregion's northern edge.

Fauna

16 mammals are endemic to the ecoregion, including the

okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...

(''Okapia johnstoni''), giant genet (''Genetta victoriae''), aquatic genet (''Genetta piscivora''),

lesser forest shrew The lesser forest shrew (''Sylvisorex oriundus'') is a species of mammal in the family SoricidaeWilson, Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M. (eds.). 2005."''Sylvisorex oriundus''". ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' (3rd ...

(''Sylvisorex oriundus''), African foggy shrew (''Crocidura caliginea''), fuscous shrew (''Crocidura polia''), owl-faced monkey (''Cercopithecus hamlyni''), and

L'Hoest's monkey L'Hoest's monkey (''Allochrocebus lhoesti'') or mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo basin. They mostly live in mountainous forest areas in small, female-dominated groups. They have a dark coat and can be distinguishe ...

(''Allochrocebus lhoesti''). It is important habitat for the

eastern lowland gorilla The eastern lowland gorilla (''Gorilla beringei graueri'') or Grauer's gorilla is a Critically Endangered subspecies of eastern gorilla endemic to the mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Important populations of ...

(''Gorilla beringei graueri''). Limited-range mammals include the pied bat (''Glauconycteris superba'') Allen's striped bat (''Glauconycteris alboguttata''), Misonne's soft-furred mouse (''Praomys misonnei''), and Verschuren's swamp rat (''Congomys verschureni''). Endemic birds include Neumann's coucal (''Centropus neumanni'') and golden-naped weaver (''Ploceus aureonucha''). Nahan's francolin (''Ptilopachus nahani''), Ituri batis (''Batis ituriensis''),

Turner's eremomela Turner's eremomela (''Eremomela turneri'') is a species of bird formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, but now placed in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Uganda. Its natural habit ...

(''Eremomela turneri''), Congo peacock (''Afropavo congensis''), Sassi's greenbul (''Phyllastrephus lorenzi''), Bedford's paradise-flycatcher (''Terpsiphone bedfordi''), and Chapin's mountain-babbler (''Turdoides chapini'') are considered near-endemic. There are seven endemic amphibians, including the olive shovelnose (''Hemisus olivaceus''), Kigulube reed frog (''Hyperolius diaphanus''), Kunungu reed frog (''H. schoutendeni''), Mertens' running frog (''Kassina mertensi''), Buta River frog (''Phrynobatrachus gastoni''), Christy's grassland frog (''Ptychadena christyi''), and Pangi Territory frog (''Amietia chapini''). There are five endemic reptiles, including the Zaire dwarf gecko.

People

The eastern edge of the ecoregion along the Albertine Rift is the most densely-populated. The central part of the ecoregion, including the Ituri Forest, is sparsely populated, and is home to the Mbuti people, an indigenous pygmy people who live by hunting and gathering in the forest.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 54,712 km², or 11%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. 34% of the unprotected area is still forested.Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b

/ref> Protected areas include: * Abumonbazi Nature Reserve * Bangassou Forest Reserve * Bili-Uere Hunting Reserve * Bomu Wildlife Reserve * Gangala-na-Bodio Hunting Reserve * Kahuzi-Biega National Park * Kisimba Ikobo Primate Nature Reserve * Maika-Penge Hunting Reserve * Maïko National Park * Okapi Wildlife Reserve * Rubi-Tele Hunting Reserve * Tayna Nature Reserve *

Virunga National Park , iucn_category = II , iucn_ref = , location = Democratic Republic of the Congo , map = Democratic Republic of the Congo , relief = 1 , coordinates = , area = , established = , nearest_city = Goma , photo =Virunga National Park-107997 ...

* Yangambi Biosphere Reserve

External links

References

{{Reflist Afrotropical ecoregions Congolian forests Ecoregions of the Central African Republic Ecoregions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo * * * Rainforests of Africa Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests